situation is like, what the political consensus is like in washington. >> i would bet on a lot more indebtedness by the federal government, and i would also add a prayer that the democrats and republicans would work together to avoid that. we have just got to get together. disaster is not red or blue. it's going to be american, and we don't want it. >> and we don't want to cash in our chips, but that's the final hand. our thanks to all of our guests for being here and to you for watching. on behalf of all the folks at "ac 360" and cnn, i'm tom foreman wishing you all of the best and none of the worst in 2013. x xx x tonight, finding faith and purpose this holiday season. >> there's so much bad news in the world.

we need good news. >> america's pastor rick warren joins me. >> people say i fell out of love. that's your choice. >> he talks religion, reason, and what america needs now. >> the good life isn't good enough. what you need is the better life. >> the election, the economy, same-sex marriage and more, to the issues that really matter. >> you know why we have to change the constitution? it was a flawed document. it was made by men. >> what does god mean to you? this is "piers morgan tonight." >> good evening, and happy holidays and welcome to a special "piers morgan tonight." joining me, one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the world, rick warren. he's america's pastor. we're going to talk about politics, sins, and much, much more. pastor warren is the author of the best selling book "a purpose driven life." welcome. >> it's good to be here with you. >> what is the purpose of christmas? >> you know, the angels in the

story the first christmas said three things. those three statements say the three purposes of christmas. they are celebration, salvation, and reconciliation. first thing the angels said was, i bring you good news of great joy. which shall be for all people. by the way, christmas isn't just for christians. they say it's for all people. good news for joy, it's a time to party. i love in the northern hemisphere, christmas comes at the darkest part of our year, kind of lightens up everything. there's so much bad news, we need good news. the first purpose is celebration. i bring you good news of great joy. it's legitimate to have parties. then is says, for unto you is born this day a savior, christ the lord. we all need saving. saving from our sins, from ourselves, from our weaknesses. but there's a lot of other salvations, too. a lot of people need to be saved out of their finances, they need a financial salvation or a relationship salvation or a physical salvation from an

illness or something like that. it's a time to look to god for salvation. and in the third, it says you will have peace on earth, good will toward men. that's the reconciliation. and you know as well as i do that a lot of times people go home for holidays. it's anything but reconciliation. a lot of bad relationships. a time for forgiveness. a time for reconciliation, a time to restore harmony. i say, have fun, look to god, and get right with your friends and neighbors. that's the purpose of christmas. >> interesting to me that you say it's open for everybody. it's a misconception that it's only for christians. >> it says for all people. in fact, this christmas, my message is called for all people. when i started saddleback church, we were a lily white anglo church in 1980 when i started it. today, our church speaks 67 languages. >> really? >> we're literally a united

nations. >> do you get people from all over? >> yes. >> how do you tally, then, the christian scriptures and teachings with say a muslim or a jew or whoever it may be? >> we're an overtly christian we're an evangelical church. i believe jesus is who he said he is, the son of god, but we welcome all people of all persuasions and we say check us out. when jesus went out and started his ministry, the first phrase he said, he's walking along the jordan river and john the baptist had a couple guys following him, and he said, there goes the lamb of god. go follow him. and andrew and john said, where are you going, lord. and here are jesus' first words, come and see. that's about as low a commitment as you can ask, just check us out. we say you don't have to say anything, sign anything, sacrifice anything, just check us out. >> america is going through a slight down draw, if you like,

in attendance in churches. 1 in 5 are now religiously unaffiliated. 1 in 3 under 30 are religiously unaffiliated. a more worrying statistic i would think. still way ahead of other countries. now, britain, for example, far worse statistics than that. so america remains a very religious country, but why do you think it's on decline? >> there are three different factors. one factor is the actual number of atheists in the country has remained the same since 1950, but they're simply more vocal. that is true. second, some of the surveys out there asking questions are asking the wrong questions. i think there was a pew survey that asked a question about protestantism, and then there was a big article saying the decline and fall of christian america, and it said protestants in america have dropped precipitously. of course they have. i don't know a single person who calls themselves protestant.

sometimes the question may be wrong, but i think also during the last decade, the term evangelical became not a theological but a political term. a lot of people were turned off by the politics. everybody knew that president george bush was a, quote, evangelical, so you must be in favor of the gulf war, or you must be in favor of this. it caught co-opted as a political term, and any time you do that, you're going to have division. >> that's why i think the separation of church and state is so important. >> george bush when he was president used his faith and his evangelical adherence to almost turn the conflict in iraq and in afghanistan into a kind of holy war. and i thought that was a very dangerous thing for an american president to do. and re-enforce when i always believed, you have to separate church and state. >> i think you're right in that, but let me give a counterpoint. he also used his faith to authorize the greatest single

health bill in history for people with aids. pepfar, which was the president's emergency plan for aids relief was a $15 billion bill. in the last ten years i have been in 164 countries, and i have people who say my husband is alive because of president bush. he literally saved hundreds of thousands of people. >> i'm a catholic. >> yeah. >> and my issue with catholicism, i have issues with every religion, and i'm not the most devout catholic you would ever meet, but i was raised a pretty devout catholic. i can't equate what the pope says about contraception, particularly condoms, in africa. i can't see how it doesn't cost millions of lives to say as the pope, the holy father, where there are so many catholics in africa, there are two uses for condoms. one is for, you know, prevention of conception. and the other is prevention of disease. and if we're using it for

prevention of disease, i endorse it. >> i would side with you on that. i'm not a catholic. i do defend the right of catholics to believe what they want to believe. and what i have found in our working with people around the world to, for instance, reduce aids, my wife and i -- >> do you campaign a lot on aids? >> oh, yeah, we have a foundation called acts of mercy which has given millions of dollars to people with hiv/aids. what we do is work with people as far as they can go. i don't have a problem with contraception, but i'll work with catholics to stop aids as far as they can go. i'll work with gays as far as they can go. i'll work with anybody as far as they can go. so i don't insist that they change their fundamental view in order to say, where do we have common ground? so i may not agree on that issue, i am an evangelical, i don't have a problem with contraception, but i have a view -- for instance, if a jewish person says we don't eat

pork, fine, i support you in your conviction, don't eat pork. and i don't think you should be forced to eat pork or even sell it. >> you're one of those evangelicals who use moderate language, you appear to be more tolerant. i will come to some of the things you said to me on a previous interview and i could set you up to challenge that a bit, but certainly when you talk to someone like joel olsteen, who i like and respect very much, he'll start talking about sin and sinners and all the rest of it. we're in a modern age where if you start to use that kind of language, you brand sections of the community sinners because you believe that's what the bible has told you to say, you're demonizing these people. i find that hard to deal with. by all means, don't agree, everyone is entitled to their view, but i don't like the demonizing. >> i happen to believe. a sin is real, there's no doubt about it. i believe everyone has sin in their life. i believe the scripture tells me

to focus on my own sin and to focus on loving you. a lot of times we get that reversed. i'm always focused on your sin and loving myself. >> you are focused on my sin, you would be a lot older looking than you are. i don't believe that. >> i have a harder time with myself, you know. years ago, the london times did a survey, a contest. they said write an essay on what's wrong with the world. g.k. chesterton wrote that letter which said two words, i am. when i wrote "purpose driven life" the first sentence of it is it's not about you. i actually was trying to think of the most counterculture statement i could think of because everything in our culture teaches us it's all about you. every advertisement says we do it all for you, it's all about you. it was kind of a little slap in the face that says it's not about you. what is interesting is when i

wrote that, i had no idea how many times i would personally be tested on that sentence for the rest of my life. sometimes i have to say that five, ten times a day. if i get criticized, i say, it's not about you. if i get praised, i say it's not about you. if i have a major problem or delay, it's not about you. i say it over and over and over. >> do you like the extraordinary position of responsibility you now have for yourself? >> i don't say that i like it, but i try to use it. and actually, i try to use it as what i call the stewardship of affluence and influence. when i wrote "the purpose driven life" and it became the best selling book in american history and the most translated book in the world, that brought in an enormous amount of money and an enormous amount of attention. honestly, it scared me. it scared me because i didn't want to be a celebrity. that's why i never put our services on television. i didn't want to be a celebrity. i had to start praying about the

stewardship of affluence and the stewardship of influence. when you right the best selling book in american history, it's tens of millions of dollars. i could have gone and bought an island and retired and had people serve my iced tea with little umbrellas in it for the rest of my life, but when you write a book saying it's not about you, you have to figure the money is not for you. that was the easy part, giving it away. the harder part is what you're talking about. what do you do with not the affluence but the influence. one day i found a passage in the bible that changed my life. psalms 72. written by solomon, the son of david. he was the wisest man, the wealthiest man, the king of israel at the apex of power. he said, god, i want you to make me famous. it sounds like the most self-centered prayer you can imagine. i want you to give me influence, give me power, spread the fame of my name to every country. until you read the motivation behind it. in it, he says so that the king

may support the widow and orphan, defend the defenseless, release the oppressed and prisoners. today you talk about -- he says care for the immigrant. and out of that passage, it came to me, the purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. the reason i have been silent in the media most of the last four years, i was overseas in little villages nobody ever heard of. i was literally trying to help people who nobody ever heard of. the purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. >> let's take a little break. i want to come back and talk to you about sex and marriage. sin and how many lustful thoughts you have on an hourly basis. initiated.

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all marriage problems come down to one of five areas, money, sex, in-laws, communication, and children. when cay and i got married, we went five for five in the first month. and our marriage was down down down. >> pastor warren talking about something many people relate to. he joins me again. i work out the permutation. money, sex, communication, in-laws, and children all go down in the same month. pretty dramatic. >> a gallup poll shows the number one cause of divorce is money. during this last four or five years in economic recession, as a pastor, i have had to deal with a lot of marriages under enormous stress when either one or both are out of work. it puts additional stress on everybody.

>> it really does, doesn't it? people lose their sense of purpose. they haven't got a job, for example. their sense of identity. >> we choose our identity. >> their sense of self-worth, their pride. there's nothing worse than being unemployed in terms of your pride. >> one of the things i try to teach people is that your value has nothing to do with your valuables. that your self-worth has nothing to do with your net worth, and that the greatest things in life aren't things. they're not things. and when we -- anything we put in our lives before god actually becomes an idol, and it could be a good thing, but it also creates enormous insecurity. how do you know when there's something in your life that's not god that's number one in your life? there's a symbol, worry. worry says i'm assuming responsibility god never intended me to have. >> when you see americans rushing out in their millions to play the lottery, power ball, whatever it may be, desperate to

try to win an amount of money that would change their lives, is it healthy? >> no, it's not healthy. the book of proverbs multiple times says it's foolish to do try to get rich schemes. that's what vegas is about, get rich quick or power ball. >> but if somebody wins a lot of money, and then they devote a large chunk of that to helping needy people, people less fortunate than themselves, does that balance it out? >> the studies show -- no, it doesn't. the studies show people who actually win the lottery, it doesn't really usually change their life for the better because you still have the same problems that you had all along. and money can't solve those. what money does, money gives us opportunity. so if i have more money, i have more opportunity. that's a good thing. i'm not against people -- i want people to prosper. but it's not the end all -- what we think we want is the good life.

and the good life is looking good, feeling good, and having the goods. the problem is i talked to a lot of people. my church is filled with people who have those three things. they're white-collar workers, they look good, they feel good, they have the goods. a lot of books have come out recently and said if i'm so successful, why do i feel like a fake? the reason is because the good life isn't good enough. what you need is the better life. and i think that's what jesus offers. when i was a little kid, my parents served me strained spinach. i thought that was really tasty. today, i think parents should be imprisoned for child abuse for serving that because it's pretty nasty stuff. but i thought strained spinach was really good until i got older and they fed me chef boyardee spaghettios. and i thought now we've hit the good time. i thought chef boy ar dee was great. and then i found in-and-out burger.

i tell people, you're living the good life, but if there was a better life, wouldn't you want to know about it? i'm not one of these pastors or preachers who say i'm trying to scare you out of hell and into heaven. i say, you need the lord in your life, not because you're going to die tonight but because you're going to live tomorrow. you have to live tomorrow, and you need not the better life, the good life, you need the better life. >> you and your wife have been married 37 years. very long and successful marriage. have you had big problems in that marriage, if you're honest? >> absolutely. in fact, our problems actually started on the honeymoon. we had a very unusual courtship. i took my wife out on our first date, and eight days later, we were engaged. before we had a second date. and then at the end, we were going to college together, at the end of that year, she moved to birmingham, alabama, to work in an inner city african-american church. i moved to nagasaki, japan, to teach english. our entire courtship, we were apart.

it was by letters. when we actually got married, we knew we were in love with each other, but it was like, who are you? and my wife and i are as exact opposite in every detail of our dna except our commitment to each other and the lord. and the thing that made us last is we closed this escape hatch, locked the key and threw it away and said divorce is not an option for us. we're going to make this work if it kills us. at times, it nearly did. at one point, i ended up in the hospital over depression over our marriage problems. cay thought she was having a nervous breakdown. we went to a counselor, a christian counselor. at that time, i was working at a college and making $800 a month, and my counseling bill was $100 a week. we wracked up a $1,500 bill, and i look back and say, was it worth it? are you kidding me? i would pay a million dollars for what i've got today. my wife is my best friend. i know some famous people, but i

would rather spend time with my wife than anyone else. i often think i should do a commercial saying mastercard, priceless. saved my marriage. people say i can't afford it, i say, you can't afford not to. how much is your marriage worth? >> do people give up too early? >> i think so. >> they don't fight enough for it. >> the problem is, you're an imperfect person and you're going to marry an imperfect person, so two imperfect people can't have a perfect relationship. we often expect people, our mate, to fulfill in us, in our lives, something only god can fulfill, and you're going to be disappointed. no person can possibly meet all your needs. >> what happens if you marry quite young, in your early 20s, and everyone knows you change a lot in the next decade, and you get to your mid-30s and you think, i don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone i'm completely incompatible with, i'm not in love with. what do you do?

>> before you get married, opposites attract. what makes you interesting is you're different from that person. >> if you know in your heart it's dead. >> before you marry, opposites attract. after you get married, opposites attack. the very thing that interested you now becomes an irritation. about six months into the marriage, all of those things you thought were really cool, you're now going, can't you be a little more like me. here are the things i have learned. love is a choice. it is a choice. you love who you choose to love. when people say i fell in love, they make it sound like falling in a ditch, like i had no control over it. you have no control over attraction. you do have control over choice. and so once you have chosen, people say, well, i fell out of love. that's your choice. that's your choice. you can choose to work on it. here's what i have noticed, piers, the greater the differences in a marriage, the more powerful a marriage becomes

if they will work at it. the very thing that drives you apart, if you'll work on it, you will learn the most from that person. they will learn the most from you. >> hold that thought. i want to take a break. i want to come back and ask you my trademark question. you teed it up nicely. how many times have you been properly in love? >> okay. ♪ ooh baby, looks like you need a little help there ♪ ♪ ooh baby, can i do for you today? ♪

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right now in america, pastor rick warren. we left the viewers on a cliffhanger there. rick, how many times have you been properly in love in your life? >> probably in my teenage years, i fell in love every week. >> that doesn't really count. >> you know, i bet i fell in love two or three times. and actually, each girl i fell in love with, the next one was better suited for me than the one before until i found cay, and she was the best suited of all. given the right situation, you can fall in love with anybody. you could put two people on the right island, the right circumstances. you could fall in love with anybody. it takes more than love to make a marriage work, and just because you fell in love with somebody doesn't mean you should marry them. there are a lot of other factors

involved. >> when you have fallen in love with a woman, it feels completely natural. >> it's not only natural, it's euphoric. there is ayu euphoric attitude. it doesn't stay. >> why do you have such a problem with a man who quite naturally falls in love with another man? or a woman with another woman? but why can you not allow them to have that euphoria that you had with all of the rights that go with that kind of relationship? >> great question. the bible says you can love anybody. there is nothing in the bible that says a man can't love a man. in fact, there are many examples of men loving men in scripture. the bible just says you can't have sex with everybody. i fall in love with lots of different women. doesn't mean i should have sex with them. what's often framed as a love issue is not the issue. in fact, i am commanded to love everybody. i as a believer in jesus christ, i am not allowed to hate

anybody. i am not allowed to disrespect anybody. i am commanded -- in fact, jesus said if you don't love everybody, you don't really love me. >> you say you're a tolerant man, and i don't dispute that, yet last time i interviewed you, you got into hot water with a lot of the gay community because you said the reason you were opposed to gay marriage, for example, is not everything is natural, like a gay attraction. >> yeah. >> it's good for you, and you compared it to arsenic. >> can i pull that back? >> yes. >> i stand by the statement that not everything natural is good for me, but the illustrations were stupid. i pull it back. i disavow it. it was a dumb thing to say. >> you realized afterwards. >> is sounded offensive. this is an issue. there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with somebody. there is something wrong with being offensive. >> that's my point about it. i think i have complete respect,

having been brought up a catholic, many catholics are anti-contraception, anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage. i have got no problem with respecting their views. the moment i start hearing the kind of rhetoric that kirk cameron, the "growing pains" star came out with on the show, he talked about gay lifestyle being the abomination of the world, i get very angry because i think, i'm not gay, but if i'm gay and listening to this, i'm thinking who the hell are you to tell me i'm the abomination of the world. people would look at you as one of the great -- you're voted one of the most influential men in the world for your teaching and books. they look at you for guidance in a time when america in particular is going through an incredibly fast change in attitude to many things. what are you going to do in your gilded ivory tower, responsibility of influence as you see more and more american states supporting and voting and making legal gay marriage.

are you going to continue saying to people who come to your congregation, it is just wrong? >> well -- >> or could you see a time when you may say, you know something, america has changed, i'm prepared to change? >> i don't see that happening because i have a world view based on scripture that remains unchanged. opinion changes. popular opinion changes all the time. what was popular in the 18th century isn't popular in the 19th, 20th, 24th. if you build your life on popular opinion, you're on shifting sand. in fact, science changes. nothing is more worthless than a science textbook from the '50s. >> the word shouldn't change from the original constitution, surely. >> my words aren't based on the constitution. >> i get that, but what it is is about fairness and equality. i went to see "lincoln" the movie a few weeks ago. it was a riveting movie. daniel day-lewis was great as lincoln.

it was all about how he fought in his last few months as president to get slavery abolished. there were millions of americans who thought slavery was acceptable who were outraged at what he was doing. he was not trying to make something popular for the moment. he knew instinctively it was just wrong, unfair, unequal. >> and why did he know that? because it's in the bible. >> but we -- >> it's in the bible. he was building it on biblical truth. the bible says that every man should be free. >> right, but you don't think every man should be free and equal. >> no -- of course we're free. and of course we're equal. >> what does that mean? >> you can love anybody you want to. >> but you don't think a gay man or woman should be free to be married like a straight man or woman? what is freedom? >> what i oppose is redefining a term. now, let me explain this.

you know jews, there's a group called jews for jesus. and jewish people don't like jews for jesus because they say, wait a minute, you don't get to redefine a term. if you believe in jesus, you're not really a jew. >> but if you -- >> let me make my point here. is that if a word means a certain thing, and it's not my word, and all of a sudden, i say, well i'm that. is that fair? is that right? >> you wouldn't have amended anything from the constitution? >> i'm not sure what you're saying. >> why would you ever have an amendment to anything in the constitution if you can't change the original wording or meaning? surely the point of all the amendments is they are moving with the times. recognizing certain words, phrases, meanings, were just plain not right. >> you're talking about two different understandings of the constitution. there are strict constructionists who say it means what it means. and there are those who say it

means what i want it to mean today. >> the fact there are amendments to the american constitution. >> of course, there are. you're mixing metaphors. >> i'm talking about the principle of changing your mind and being able to move with the time. which is what all the amendments to the constitution were basically about. >> you know why we have to change the constitution? it's a flawed document. it was made by men. my world view is the bible was made by god, not by men, and it doesn't change. >> you and i know the bible is in many places a false document. >> i don't agree with that. >> you think everything in the bible is accurate? >> i think the bible is true. not everything in the bible that is explained in the bible does the bible commend. for instance, there's rape in the bible. the bible is clearly against rape. if you open the bible, you'll find more rape, murder, incest, all kinds of problems. why? because the bible always tells the truth. why does it say holy on the bible? any other book, if it was writing about these great people

in the past, they tend to gloss over their sins. >> we discussed this last time. >> wouldn't the bible say if you commit adultery, you'll be stoned to death? >> we say this is a civil law for the nation of israel. >> but it's still an element of the bible that is flawed. >> evidently, for that generation, that's their commandment. >> exactly my point. >> but it's not one of the moral laws. >> but it's something in the bible and it's flawed. >> i do not believe the bible is flawed. >> it's well intentioned but they are basically inherently flawed. hence the need to amend it. my point to you about gay rights, it's time for an amendment to the bible. >> no. not a chance. what i believe is flawed is human opinion because it constantly changes. in fact, we do it every eight years. in america, we have a change in opinion. what was popular, what was hot is now not. and i willingly admit, willingly

admit, that i base my world view on the bible which i believe is true. and truth, my definition of truth is, if it's new, it's not true. if it was true 1,000 years ago, it will be true 1,000 years from today. opinion changes, the truth doesn't. >> we're going to agree to disagree on that. we'll come back and visit about children -- >> i like -- piers, we need more of this kind of talk. >> i agree. the debates should always be respectful. and by the way, politics, too, the moment it becomes disrespectful and discourteous and then rude and then poisonous, you don't achieve anything. >> let's go to the gay issue. i don't see many people willing to debate it. it's either my way or nothing. i don't see anybody willing to actually talk about it. >> let's take a break, talk about children and charity when we come back.

right now with pastor warren. christmas for many people is an enjoyable experience, but for many people it's a depressing, sad, lonely time. how do you try to change the fact that christmas becomes this crystallization formany people of all that is terrible in their lives? >> right, when you attach any

holiday to a memory, that's either good or bad, and if you attach it to good memories, of course, you're going to tend to repeat those. if christmas for you brings up a time of strife, conflict, i'm not with my family, we're divorced or we're separated, whatever, of course, and we know that's a very depressing time. my suggestion is that people develop a new habit. create a new habit and attach it to the holiday instead of continuing to look backwards. when i was 3 years old, i asked my mother, why do we have christmas? and my mom said, it's jesus' birthday. as a 3-year-old, my mind was, why don't we have a birthday party? i said, we can have cake and kool-aid and literally said, a ladder and angels could come down and be with us. that year, we started a birthday party for jesus. this year, we will do that for the 55th time. >> really?

>> in my life, it is a tradition, we call it birthday party for jesus. we do it on christmas eve. what we do, the family all gathers, whoever is there that particular year, and we go around the room. it is our family tradition to do two things. first, everybody shares one thing they're thankful for in the last year. but they can go on as long as they want to. it's a time of very meaningful sharing. then we say one thing i want to give god or give jesus for his birthday this year, and then we share that. then we sing happy birthday to jesus. the youngest kid in the family blows out the candle. we have an angel food cake, not devil's food cake. we actually have a birthday party for jesus. that's something our family looks forward to every year. it's funny, because when the kids were little, when we were little, the sharing was short and quick and laughter and giggles. as we got older, it got more meaningful. now that i have grandkids, it's short and fun like that. i think you can create a habit or tradition. create a new tradition to

overcome the negativity that is in the past. >> you give away 90% of all your income. >> yeah, actually, we raise it every year. when cay and i got married 37 years ago, we started giving 10% away. that's called a tithe. then at the end of the first year of marriage, we gave away 11%, then the second, 12%. every year, we would raise it. when i got a bonus or a raise, we would raise it 3% or 4%. on the years the cupboard was bare, we would raise it a quarter percent because i wanted to be more generous every year. every time i give, it breaks the grip of materialism in my life. materialism is all about getting. get, get, get. get all you can, can all you get, sit on the can and spoil the rest. giving is the antidote to materialism. it makes me more like jesus. there's a verse that said god so loved the world that he gave. you can give without loving but you can't love without giving.

so now we have raised it every year, and actually this last year, we raised it again. we now give away 91% and live on 9%. i played this game with god for 37 years. he says you give to me and i'll give to you and we'll see who wins. i lost for 37 years. >> do you know how much you're worth? >> no, no, i don't. i know that we're constantly giving it away. we have three different charities. one is called acts of mercy which helps those infected and affected by hiv/aids, which my wife leads, and helps orphans and vulnerable women and children around the world. we have another charity called training leaders. where we train leaders in villages around the world, and the third is called the peace plan, which is promote reconciliation, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, assist the next -- educate the next generation. i would say this to everybody who is watching. it's not a sin to be wealthy. it's a sin to die wealthy.

in other words, money is a tool. and it can be used for good or for bad. money is neither good nor bad, but it can be used for good or used for bad. bill gates told me one time, rick, use money to save time. that's a brilliant idea. because you see, i only have 168 hours a week. we all have the exact same amount of time. we don't have the same amount of money. we have the same amount of time. once i spend that time, i'm never getting it back. you can always get more money. so if you use money to save time, that's a valuable investment of money. >> let's take another break and come back and talk about your diminishing status, i mean physically. you're wasting away. and apparently so are 15,000 other people. i want to talk to you about all this. hey, look! a shooting star! make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever.

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you're making it part of your mission to take care of the temple of the soul. and that is not a place where as physicians we have commonly gone. we go to church, we don't speak about our bodies in church. this gives us an opportunity to change that equation. >> dr. oz talking at rick warren's saddleback church. you have lost 60 pounds with oi owe this diet program -- >> i have 40 more to go, though. >> it's obviously working very well. it's called the daniel plan.

you and the church have been doing this together. 15,000 people have signed up. they have shed a combined total of 250,000 pounds. how do you combine diet with prayer? >> it's funny how it started. first place, i never cared about how i looked. i didn't care how i looked. i was blessed with enormous energy, so i never paid attention. we baptize after every service. about a year ago, i was doing the baptism, and we do it the old fashioned way. we put people under the water. i lift people under water and lift them out. on this day, i had 867 people to baptize. it took me about four hours. on about number 500 that i had lowered into the water and pulled up, i had a thought. it wasn't a very spiritual thought. it wasn't a pastor thought. man, we're all overweight. we're all fat. and then i thought, but i'm fat, and i can't expect other people to get in shape if i'm out of

shape. the next morning at church, i got up and said, you guys, i need to repent. i said, i have -- i have only gained two or three pounds a year, but i have been your pastor for 32 years. so i need to lose 90 pounds. >> so give me the bullet points of how it works. >> well, i went out and got three doctors, dr. mehmet oz, doctor daniel amen, and dr. mark heyman, and oz said you have to know your height, waist, weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure. we took about 20 doctors at the church, set up a booth for a month, let people take those numbers. we opened a website called daniel plan.com where they could follow it. i thought maybe 200 people would sign up to show up. 12,000 of my members signed up. and as you pointed out, we have now lost over 250,000 pounds. i'm looking for the day that our church says we lost the equivalent of a jumbo jet liner.

>> what are the key things you have to do? >> the number one thing -- of course, diets are diets. but the number one think about this, we do it in community. most people don't understand that saddleback isn't the sunday service. every time a journalist comes, they come on the weekend and see 20,000 people, they think that's it. the real church happens during the week in 6,000 small groups. we're the only church in america that has more people in bible study than on sunday. 20,000 on sunday. 32,000 in small groups. the 6,000 small groups go from santa monica to carlsbad. every one we have a health champion. >> what have you stopped eating or done? >> it was real simple. i cut out all whites, white carbohydrates. >> no bread, no pasta, no rice. >> which was hard for me

because they don't call me pasta rick for nothing. that was my favorite. >> buboom. >> i cut out all white stuff. i personally cut out dairy, okay. i eat a lean protein, vegetables, and a little bit of fruit. >> do you drink alcohol? >> no, i never have. >> never? >> never have. >> never had a crafty nip at christmas? >> never have. never smoked either. >> just when i thought we had so much in common, pastor. >> let's take a final break. i want to have your final thoughts when we come back. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok.

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>> back with pastor warren. we have literally millions of people watching. that babe in a manger didn't stay way. we can have peace in our lives and power in our lives. i say you can have your past forgiven, a purpose for living, a home in heaven. it's all by grace. suppose that -- gave me a

christmas gift. i stuck it in the corner and you go rick, how did you like my gift? you go, i got too busy to open it. you'd be offended. yet, many people celebrated christmas after christmas and never opened god's gift. the gift is grace. no matter who i am, what i've done, where i've gone, there's forgiveness available. i can have a home in heaven and it's a free gift. i receive it by grace. there's a verse in the bible that says to those who believe and receive to him he gave the right to become children of god. that's what i think it's all about. believing and receiving. >> pastor rick, happy holidays. thank you so much. merry white christmas.

some in america getting their wish right now. others may get much more than they barrigained for with dangerous tornado threats on christmas day, and one week to go. with the fiscal cliff in sight both sides quiet on future talks. and nfl triumph. coach chuck pagano back in time for the playoffs with the colts. merry christmas, dana bash. >> you, too, alina. i'm dana bash in d.c. let's get started. up first. be careful what you wish for. those dreaming of a white christmas could be in for a whiteout. extreme weather is on the way christmas day and on the way for many. millions could be in store for a foot of snow or more. it could be even a rare white christmas down south along with a threat of tornadoes. more on the holiday storm and

all the delays. good morning, merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> give us the good, the bad and the ugly. >> unfortunately, for travelers, yesterday was pretty bad but today could be worse. dangerous lightning flaring up at this hour across louisiana and arkansas and behind it snow starting off as a mixture of sleet and freezing rain in places like oklahoma city and little rock, arkansas. lightning moving into dallas and stone yo this hour, so the severe weather threat in terms of tornadoes exist today across a good portion of the gulf coast and the south, including jackson, mississippi down to hattiesburg and pensacola and as far west to beaumont, tecumseh, a widespread area where we're looking at damaging winds and possible tornadoes and huge wind with a lot of potential airport delays. here's the snow, and we're expecting it to get worse. believe it or not, the computer

model predicting heavy snow for places like paducah, kentucky, today to tomorrow, getting worse tomorrow. 6 to 10 inches in the forecast for southern kentucky and even parts of southeast missouri. we'll see heavy snow and forecast for snow as well, but it will start west to east. we'll see the snow building in later this afternoon and tonight for many locations. if it's not all, for those of you that are traveling today, we're also watching out for very, very thick fog. it's happening right now in atlanta where visibility is less than half a mile. three-quarters of a mile in macon, georgia, and the winds will make the severe weather happening in louisiana worse, because if it's so foggy out, you won't see any incoming areas of dangerous weather. temperatures bitterly cold in the northern plains and the cold air slides in as we work through this week. watching very carefully today for the severe weather threat in the areas of the south coast.

back to you. >> thanks very much. a grim christmas morning in upstate new york. four fire fighters shot, two fatally, and police say they were lured into a sniper's trap. this is the man who allegedly set fire to a house near rochester, new york on christmas eve morning. 62-year-old william spangler, an ex-con who spent 16 years in prison for beating to death his 92-year-old grandmother with a hammer back in 1990. after torching the house he perched himself on a nearby berm and began picking off fire fighters as they entered his kill zone. listen to fire fighters calling to help from the scene. >> firemen are done. the fire is on the south side of the road. he's shooting from the north side with what i believe was an assault rifle or hunting rifle. i am struck in the back and the

lower leg so i need ems. >> killed by sniper fire, a 911 dispatcher, just 19 years old and lieutenant michael chiparini, an officer with the webster, new york police department. both men died at the scene >> you know, these people get up in the middle of the night to put out fires. don't expect to be shot and killed. it's a very difficult situation. >> especially coming on christmas eve. the suspect eventually killed himself. the two wounded fire fighters have been identified as theodore scardino and joseph ohofstetter and they are recovering from gunshot wounds. no word of a possible motive. >> terrible story. a week before the fiscal cliff, tax hikes for all americans and spending cuts that could pull

the economy back into recession. ho, ho, ho. that makes everybody happy on christmas morning. president obama spent christmas eve playing a round of golf with friends and the democratic senate looks like the only hope for crushing the deadlock. our white house correspondent brianna keilar maybe with a little bit of news which is pathetic because it's talks within the democratic party, but at least they are talking. >> reporter: that's right. is it really news that democrats are talking? that's all the news we have to report as of today. i know i feel a little bit like a grinch reporting this, but the white house is in talks with senate democrats. that's not really surprising as we look to the senate to be the next -- really the next ones to act on this when they reconvene on the 27th. right now it's really up to

senate majority leader harry reid to try to cobble something together that can get some republican support in the senate and the house to avoid the fiscal cliff. we are one week away from it, as you mentioned, and republicans are not even part of the discussions, both in the senate and in the house, and at this point they are certainly maybe having a working christmas. senate democrats and republicans, but i think it's interesting just to kind of recap what's going on here. before president obama and house speaker john boehner were working on a much bigger package obviously, not just to avoid the fiscal cliff but to try and tackle the long-term fiscal health of the country, trying to overall it was expected to raise some taxes, try to deal with entitlement reform and tax reform, those other big things like entitlement reform and tax reform get kicked into the new year, dana, so it's the gift that keeps on giving on this

cli clifftmas. >> taking this pretty far. one of the key questions is whether or not senate democratic leader harry reid will be able to get enough republicans in the senate to vote on anything that will keep taxes low and maybe cut some spending. is the white house optimistic enough that the president might come back early to -- maybe he thinks he might have something to sign? >> i think it is expected that the president will come back early. probably whether or not he has something to sign because -- because obviously he's going to have to even maybe be twisting arms and lobbying some senators in his own party. the big question right now is what is this measure that he will push? what will it even look like? right now the white house wants the threshold for those tax hikes to be at a quarter million dollars. that's what they are saying

publicly. is that what it's going to look like? details still have to be worked out, and that's what we're looking for in the next couple of days as president obama will head back to d.c. and cut his vacation short. >> you are the happiest grinch i've ever seen, i'll give you that. >> hollywood is mourning the defendant actor jack klugman this morning. klugman, adored by millions of television viewers over the years. younger fans will remember him as a crime-fighting coroner in the hit tv show "quincy" but he's best remembered for his role as the sloggy cigar-champing sports writer oscar madison in the tv sitcom "the odd couple," a show that never really caught on with audiences until years after it ended in reruns and on nick at night. here he is with larry king back in 1984. >> we were never below off 45, and tony was so worried, and i

said listen to the audience, how they were laughing. >> never a hit? >> never, never. >> klugman, once a five pack a day smoker eventually lost a vocal cord and his voice to throat cancer in the 1980s, but he taught himself how to speak again as you see there. his son said he died with his wife by his side on krif machri eve. he was 90 years old. >> all day, all night people in newtown, connecticut are paying tribute. a candle lit for each child an adult thrown there. they will take half hour shifts to make sure the candles are burning. people in newtown getting through the first christmas after the horrible rampage. one mother said it's all about the kids and being with family and the entire police force got the day off thanks to officers from other communities who are

pitching in for them. >> well, you're looking there at live pictures of pope benedict at the vatican giving his christmas message as we speak, and this year he says we need to make room for god. during midnight mass he said the faster we can move the more efficient our time-saving appliances will be, we don't make room for god, for the children, for the poor, for strangers. he also called for peace in the middle east and an end to the violence in syria. coach chuck pagano will once again stand with his team on the sidelines. we'll have more on that inspiring story about the coach's cancer fight coming up. certainly is inspiring, and as we go to break, we'll look at christmas in flip-flops. wow, that looks great. how they are spending the

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start." it's 14 minutes after the hour. two vicious attack on hungry syrian people simply waiting in line for bread. the latest' tack happened yesterday. at least 15 people killed by an air assault in homs province and then the intense graphic video that some of you may find very you have to to watch. more than 100 people killed sunday at a bakery in hama province. cnn cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the video we should mention. our mohammed jamjoon joins us now with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, alina. it was two days ago that this horrific attack happened in hama province. we heard from opposition factions and eyewitnesses and residents there saying hundreds of people were waiting in a bread line, thefirst time in weeks that the bakery had been opened. the rebel soldiers had moved in and taken the town away from

regime solders who had been there, and they say because of that, that that area was specifically targeted. that's what the opposition activists tell us. now, the syrian government has a very different version of events. they say it was armed terrorists in the town that carried out this attack. armed terrorists is the terminology they use to describe opposition and rebel fighters. the syrian government say the residents of that town called for the military to intervene to go in there and help them and help them secure the area. there's been so much international condemnation about the attack that killed as many as 100 people, maybe more than that. the u.s. state department issued a statement yesterday strongly condemning the syrian government for it. that statement went on to say brutal attacks such as these show that this regime has no future in syria. those that commit acrotrocities will be held accountable. the united states calls on all parties that continue to assist regime next cuting its war against the syrian people to end their support. and it was just the next day,

just yesterday, that we started hearing about another horrific attack, this time in homs. we started seeing amateur video posting online, the aftermath of what activists say was an air raid, women and children were standing in line to get bread in areas where there's food shortage. you can see the grief in the aftermath. you see the emotion. you see people becoming enraged with the government calling on the world to intervene, to stop the suffering of the syrian people. a really horrific scene and all the activists we've been speaking with the past few days warning this is going to get worse over the coming days and week. >> a u.n. peace envoy met with syria's president bashar al assad yesterday. any news to come of that,

anything significant? >> reporter: not a lot of concrete details. we've seen time and again, alina, some sort of envoy going into syria to meet with bashar al assad and other members of his government. they don't seem to come up with a concrete plan. lakhdar brahimi went in there yesterday but met shortly afterwards. he discussed steps to take with the president, to end the violence in the country. he said that he would be continuing his shuttle diplomacy going to other countries and international regions and international power players. but brahimi has gone in several times and his predecessor, kofi annan, went into syria all the time. all this diplomacy and the deadlock of diplomacy happening with the horrific violence continuing. two years since the violence started in syria. over 40,000 people have been killed. hundreds of people, according to opposition activists that we speak to, just in the last few

days, and that's when these talks were happening. >> mohammed jamjoon live from lebanon. thank you. dana? >> other top stories this morning. what started as a minor traffic stop ended with a veteran police officer dead. officer jimmy norman had just pulled over the suspect for a traffic offense when he was shot. norman apparently didn't even have time to draw his gun. a business owner who ran out to see what was going on was also shot and killed. other officers shot and wounded. the 21-year-old suspect is expected to survive and face murder charges. >> later today egypt is expected to finally officially announce the results of a vote on its new constitutions which was drafted by a muslim-dominated assembly. preliminary unofficial results by the muslim brotherhood say 64% support the measure.

netflix users who wanted to curl up with a movie on christmas eve couldn't do it. the streaming video was out for the day. on the twitter page amazon's web service was blamed for the problem. i was on amazon and that video service was working well. >> last-minute shopping, i know that. chuck strong. have you heard about this, huge emotional boost for the indianapolis colt the day after the cinderella team clinched a playoff spot. their coach chuck pagano returned to the team yesterday after spending most of the season undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. >> if you're going to have to go through something, i know exactly why i'm here now, because this is the place you'd want to be starting with our owner and on down. it's the finest people i've ever been around in my entire life, and i thank you all from the

bottom of my heart. thank you. >> strong man with a lot of courage and many people throughout the community t donning chuckstrong bracelets and two cheerleaders even shaved their head in solidarity. good for them. >> a very nice story on this christmas day. and it's a space capsule that acts like a helicopter. check this out. coming up the rocket launch that could change space travel as we know it. and we are showcasing christmas around the world this morning. check out these kids getting gifts in japan. we'll be right back. hey, look! a shooting star!

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welcome back to "early start." it's 24 minutes after the hour. i'm here along with caina bash. dana, take a look at this video. it just may blow your mind. the company spacex launching a successful test flight of its grasshopper rocket. now after launch, it actually hovers in the air as it is doing right now and then lands vertically very softly. >> wow. >> we're going to see it eventually, i think, instead of breaking up. it has the potential, by the way, to change space flight as we know it and save a whole lot of money in the process. the private space flight company says it's almost -- there's the landing -- almost ready for its first liftoff. a few kinks to work out. they carried cargo to the international space station and hopes to take people there soon

>> you know what, i'll let other people do that. would you do it? would you get on? >> i don't think so, but people pay a lot of money to do it. >> i know, i know. i'll get their reports when they get back. now, if you still haven't done your christmas shopping, you are worse than i am, you are a real champion procrastinator. yesterday shoppers were out hunting down last-minute gifts and deals. some stores were open until 10:00 p.m. >> always say i'm not going to do it, but i think the -- i don't know why i always wait but i always do. >> i think you feel like you don't have enough and you go back and get more and that's not good. >> 32 shopping days between black friday and christmas gave people each more time to procrastinate. experts say the overall retail numbers this season will probably be disappointing, in part because people are afraid, yes, washington are you listening, tax rates could go up next year. >> come on, really. won't stop me.

>> that's for a later discussion. >> exactly. >> a one-woman still plus project. let's turn back to christmas. first lady michelle obama in the holiday spirit answering calls from kids across the country as part of norad's track santa program. mrs. obama took calls from hawaii where she and the first family are spending the holiday. >> so what will be playing in the background this morning when the kiddies open their present? we're cnn. of course, we found a poll on this. ♪ silent night ♪ holy night ♪ all is calm >> that's right, according to the latest poll, "silent night" is america's christmas song, and who else but byng to sing

followed by ""white christ mass" >> none of my made the list. >> "it's beginning to look a lot like christmas" is my favorite. i'll spare the singing. >> it's christmas. >> you don't want that, trust me. >> pretend like you're in the shower. >> i'm a jersey girl so for me it's "santa claus is coming to town" by springsteen but looking at the old school songs i like "i'll be home for christmas." >> that's a great up, too. i've been listening. >> coming up, what was naughty and who was nice in the world of politics this year. >> but first a very merry christmas gang-style. ♪ check out my new treadmill app.

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the weather outside could be frightful today. blizzard warnings and the threat of tornadoes. we're tracking the storm. >> the week before the fiscal cliff and not a creature is stirring. not even the president. >> and a surprise christmas present. i challenge you not to cry when you see this. a mom sets eyes on her sailor son for the first time in months. it's a heartwarming reunion you just don't want to miss. welcome back to "early start." i'm dana bash in washington. hi there, alina. >> merry christmas, dana. we'll have that family on live later this morning of i'm alina cho in new york. a huge christmas storm threatening holiday travel this morning for millions, the southern plains and the deep

south could get a rare white christmas and possible christmas tornadoes. our bonnie schneider tracking the storm and all the delays. >> good morning. wish i had a better report for you. you can see the realtime lightning strikes sweeping across louisiana and arkansas moving right into jackson, mississippi. this is just the beginning of a dangerous christmas day in terms of severe weather. a moderate risk for tornadoes across parts of mississippi, louisiana and even areas of southeast, texas, including beaumont and houston as well though not in the red zone where there's a concentrated area of tornadoes. watching that throughouts the day. what we're seeing that's dangerous for those of you up early on the road. in oklahoma ice accumulating. when we're talking about measurable snow, 4 to 6 inches.

some of the rain will change over to snow in little rock, arkansas and looking towards memphis and paducah, kentucky, a big snow storm by the time we get to christmas night with 10 inches of snow in parts of kentucky and we're also mong monitoring the fog. here in atlanta, you know what i'm talking about, thick and dangerous and be careful driving if you don't have to. there's a picture. >> you may have to stay at the office a little bit longer to wait for the fog to dissipate. bonnie schneider in the weather center at cnn. thank you. a snowboarder killed in an avalanche in northern california. his body was found at the bottom of a ridge in three feet of snow at donner snow ranch. officer reports said he was buried for five hours. paramedics tried to save him but it was too late. >> we told ski patrol we're missing a guy, we're missing a

guy and they didn't start looking for him until two, three hours later. >> they did an initial courtesy search around, didn't find anything. we're concerned for safety reasons because of the unstabilize that's up there. they kind backed o.nobody else was hurt. a u.s. airways crew smelled fuel while their empty plane sat parked in phoenix. when they checked it out, they saw flames shooting out of tail. fire crews put it out. nobody was hurt and no flights were delayed. a small engine under the tail was probably the source of the problem. the plane was supposed to head to vancouver. passengers were put on another flight. >> and the president is on the links. lawmakers are on a break and as santa slide down the last few chimneys this morning, a good chunk of all of our paychecks may be teetering right off the fiscal cliff. merry christmas. we're now just seven days away from tax hikes for pretty much

all americans. spending cuts that could break millions of families' budgets, and it could launch the economy back into a recession. president obama spent christmas eve playing golf with friends in hawaii, and right now the senate looks like the last hope for neglect getting past the fiscal krif. want to go to the white house correspondent briana keilar who is traveling with the first family in honolulu. any discusses at all that you're hearing from from sources in either party right now? >> reporter: some discussions, but they are not really surprising ones, dana right now we understand that the white house is talking with senate democrats, and this is exactly what you would expect ahead of the senate reconvening on the 27th when it's really up to senate majority leader harry reid to try to figure out some sort of measure that can get some republican support in the senate and some republican support in the house in the hopes of averting the fiscal cliff. this is really a bit of a last-ditch effort, and instead of tackling sort of the big

issue of dealing with the long-term fiscal health of the country which is what the fiscal cliff was initially supposed to be an incentive to do, it's really looking like a measure that is just going to try to avert the fiscal cliff itself. the white house trying to at least publicly saying what they want is to avert tax hikes on people make up to $250 per year. we also know, dana, spending cut are set to kick in. not sure how that's addressed in this measure or ultimately something the senate might take up. we wait to see what they cook up in the senate ahead of coming back to town on thursday. >> when i covered the white house and worked on christmas day, the big news you waited for all day what's the president going to do or more specifica y specifically, what is he going to eat? are they going to put out a menu? >> reporter: exactly.

how many different types of pies will thereby on christmas day. expecting to get some of that information. in the past he's done what we'll expect him to do again. he frequently vision its with troops on christmas day. did that last year when he was in on oahu or already getting christmas cheer in, sort of hawaii style, played golf yesterday and went to the beach with the first family and this was kind of fun. the first lady took phone calls from kids who are tracking norad's tracking of santa claus so she was getting in on the fun, too. >> briana, thank you very much, still love that backdrop and listening to the sound of those waves crashing. >> yeah. we all wish we could be in honolulu. brianna, dana, thank you. santa has made his list and checked it twice and delivered the goodies. while some are looking under the tree to find a shiny new

bicycle. now a look at who was naughty and who was nice in 2012. good morning to both of you. you have switched places i guess which is normal in the holidays, you're taking vacation, but let's talk first about the nice list because we want to be nice, it's christmas. richard, you have picked a republican for your list, chris christie. he was awfully nice to the president in the days and weeks after hurricane sandy, wasn't he? >> well, he was, and, you know, i tried to pick republicans because i wanted to be nice to them today, but -- >> if ever you were going to do it, today's the day, richard. >> i think though all kidding aside chris christie showed real leadership in the wake of the terrible disaster that people in his state suffered through, and,

you know, what impressed me about him and i don't usually agree with him on much, that he was willing to speak the truth and talk cooperation and need to put partisan politics aside. >> he took a lot of heat from republicans for doing that right around election time. you have such an interesting time. american girl dolls are on your list this year. >> well, you know, i have no keds and this was an absolute discould have couldry for me this year. i've never been to an american girls store, and we opened it up in miami. i never saw so many girls going crazy. really felt heartwarming, dolls that look like you, dolls that look like me, like dana, even have dolls that look like

richard. male dolls, female dolls. >> dolls that look like richard? >> dolls in wheelchairs and with hearing aids. it's such a good message with little girls, particularly with the self-esteem issues that girls have these days, teenagers, to have dolls that look like each of us that are so individual. i give all sorts of kudos on the american girls dolls. they could get down on price. >> yeaand now the next person o your list is chief justice john roberts who made news in the health care realm. >> my list is quite different than anna's, but i thought that john roberts really this year showed, again, showed what it was-what it meant to be a leader

and put politics and partisan politics aside. he in deciding to be the deciding vote and hold that the president's health care law was constitutional. he knew he'd be in big trouble with his fellow conservatives, but i think he thought it was the right thing to do, the right thing to do under the constitution and put the constitution ahead of partisan politics, and i think in doing so was a real profile in courage this year. >> anna, another sort of unconventional choice for you is victor cruz, the wide receiver for the new york giants, but not for any play that he's made, and i think a lot of people just -- just were so -- had such great feelings for him when he went and visited that family who lost their son. >> alina, i didn't know he was a wide receiver until you just said it. i know nothing about football, but i can tell you i thought what he did was such an act of kindness, and i think he also

spoke for the entire country when he went to sandy hook and spent the time, when he gave his jersey so that little jack pinto could be buried in it. to me he embodies what we saw from the entire nation, an outpourgs of support, of random acts of kindness and of prayers and times for the victims of sandy hook. seen that time and again this year from the american people. they step up, they unite and they support in a time of distress and disaster. >> yeah. i think we all saw that he wore his cleats and put my hero, rest in peace, jack pinto and gave those to the family. i actually went and visited the pinto family. >> he gets my mvp award, and i don't watch football. >> plus, he's cute. richard, we want to move on to the naughty list. that's a total aside. we want to move on to the naughty list and talk about someone who has been in the news for what you say was the big announcement that wasn't. >> yes.

i thought wayne lapierre and the nra showed once again that, you know r know, wayne lapierre has been the single biggest gun block to sensible gun control and after the terrible tragedy just days ago, thought he would see movement. instead, they are back out there blaming everybody else but themselves and blaming everybody else, blaming the culture, blaming hollywood and blaming video tames and taking no responsibility and, you know, they have been the number one stumbling block to sensible gun control in this country, and i think finally the country is ready to move beyond it but they are not and that was a -- was, you know, breathtakingly out-of-touch announcement he had

the other day, where they want to put more guns in schools. >> public opinion is clearly shifting the other way. anna, let's talk about your naughty pick. maybe we should mention handcuffs for this one. >> e.l. james, "fifty shades of grey." i have to tell you. i read all of the books for research. i -- i was doing an interview, an entertainment interview and had to do research, but tell me why you picked e.l. james, i think it's pretty clear. >> because she was naughty and we liked it. she was like mae west, when she's nice, she's very nice and when she's naughty she's even nicer. she really touched a nerve and did tremendous things for people all over the place. >> good choice of word. >> i think she was naughty in a creative way and laughed all the

way to the bank. >> that's exactly it. it was the fastest selling novel in history. it's pretty incredible. >> and i read it just, you know, to be up with pop culture. >> me, too. >> i did not want to be left behind the curve. >> richard, did you read it? >> i did not read it, although soledad tried to get me to read it, but i did not read it, but this is definitely a different kind of naughty. >> yes, it is, yes, it is. >> richard and anna, we're -- stay right there. we're going to be talking to you a little bit more because coming up in the next hour, who came in number one on anna and richard's naughty list? we'll check in with both in a bit. coming up, the best christmas present a mom could ever ask for, a big surprise when her sailor son returns home. we will have the heartwarming reunion next. and before the break, a look at christmas in thailand where instead of elves there are elephants? that's right. just have a look at this. merry christmas, everybody. we'll be back after this.

♪ [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ] ♪ 'cause all i want this season ♪ ♪ is something from your heart ♪ la da da, la da da [ male announcer ] thinking of others this holiday season, travelers.

welcome back to "early start."

she could not have asked for a better gift. a u.s. sailor surprising his mother with an early christmas present. the gift was himself. it was all captured in a video that has gone viral on the web around the world. sailor matt giles sent an oversized christmas card that his mom read aloud to a friend on the phone and then, well, take a look. >> i am truly best and to give a present to give you and i decided that this big [ bleep ] card would be it. it will show everyone that i love my mom and i'm damn proud to be her son. now i'm truly sorry that j.d. had to be the one to give this to you. i would have personally done it but that would have really missed up the best part of getting this. i love you, man, thank you. >> you like that? >> oh, my god. >> you can see why that's gotten more than 70,000 hits online and

probably many tears from viewers. don't miss it at 8:30 eastern when matt giles and his mom will both join us live. and from landing on mars to a daredevil leap that broke the sound barrier, it was quite a year for science. we'll look back at some of the most amazing feats in the science world next. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose, because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ we actully keep track of how many times this kid picked his nose? hair pulls, stink eyes, man we see eveything. oh, it's the old man. hold on, i gotta send something out.

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from finding god to potentially blood boiling leap from space, it was the year for science, a year where daredevils met nerds, danger met discovery and more. cnn's john zarella counts down the biggest science story for 2012 this morning. >> reporter: at number 10, a revolutionary camera called litro. >> such a powerful technology breakthrough that this will affect how we all take pictures. >> reporter: it captures the entire light field allowing the picture's focus and perspective to change after it's been taken. number 9, nasa's dawn spacecraft sent back staggering data about an asteroid 325 miles in diameter called vesta. it appears vesta went through

some stages of planetary evolution. it's one of a kind in the solar system. >> what's clear to us is that vesta appears to be the only intact proto planet that's left. >> reporter: number 8, you may have heard the term gord particle. scientist call it higgs-bowsan. why is it a big deal? think big bang theory. >> and this particle we think, a particle like, this was the fuse that set off the explosion which created the universe. >> reporter: researchers found after analyzing data from proton collisions generated by a particle accelerator. at 7 a leap of faith. felix bumgarner's record-setting jump. he broke the free fall record and sound barrier jumping from 128,000 feet in a revolutionary spacesuit >> i said the whole world is

watching right now and wish the world could see what i see. >> 6, chirp dying attin alarming rate in cambodia and speed. the strains were unusually aggressive. our doctor sanjay gupta was there when the mystery was solved. >> they found that those organisms in, conjunction with the kids getting steroids, probably led to such an aggressive course. >> reporter: number 5, spacex became the first commercial company to rendezvous and dock a space station to the international space station. it marked a new beginning. private companies taking over for nasa sending cargo and eventually humans to the station. number 4, scientists found the great barrier reef, the largest in the world is in danger.

scientists attribute much of the loss to storm damage. and now to number 1, test dives. finally in a submersible called deep sea challenger cameron went down 35,000 feet. number 2, melting ice. scientists using satellite and aircraft data have found the greenland and antarctic ice sheaths are losing three times as much eyes as years ago. giantrists appeared in places like antarctic, pine island glacier and combined antarctica and greenland this contributed to 1/10 of all sea level rise over the last 30 years and number 1 is seven minutes of tear ork. . rover curiosity survived a harrowing ride through the martian atmosphere.

curiosity is now roaming the landing site hunting for signatures of past life, water, methane and curiosity is that it could be our number one again next year. alina? >> storms coming up on christmas day and some could prove dangerous. and as we showcase christmas around the world this morning, a look at nato troops celebrating in afghanistan. we'll be right back. ♪ from jammin' jerk chicken, to creamy gouda bisque. see what's new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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